JackJumpers coach: Jewels a cut above in debut

Tasmania JackJumpers coach Scott Roth has hailed the Jewels’ WNBL debut as a landmark moment for the state, after a sold-out MyState Bank Arena watched the newcomers beat the Geelong Venom 103-90 on Thursday night.

It marked Tasmania’s return to the WNBL for the first time since 1996 and, much like the JackJumpers’ entry into the NBL in 2021, was met with incredible fanfare and passion from the locals.

“It was obviously history making, and the bar got set very, very high for the rest of that league,” Roth said on Friday.

“The experience of going to one of our games now is in the Jewels’ hands, and they played wonderfully and obviously got off to a great start. To walk into a building where there’s 4,000 people in there, I don’t think that’s been done very much in that league, so kudos to them and obviously to the state again.”

Roth said the Jewels would carve out a pathway for a new generation of female basketballers in Tasmania, given how closely ingrained the club already is in the community.

“They’re going to be able to inspire so many youths across the state, young ladies, to aspire to be a player or a coach or a video coordinator or physio,” he added.

“The aspiration of seeing that, and being in a gym in that environment, is just going to be hugely impactful.”

Roth famously led the JackJumpers to their first NBL championship in 2024, just three years after joining the competition.

The top-of-the-table Jewels next take on the Southside Melbourne Flyers in enemy territory on Thursday, live on 9Now and ESPN via Disney+ from 7pm AEDT.